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May 13 --The recent debate over legislation to increase the
federal minimum wage didn't result in a mandatory pay hike for the
country's lowest-earning workers, but it did generate spending on
lobbying activities by a wide range of employers and organizations,
including some whose interests in the bill may not be immediately
apparent, according to an analysis of quarterly disclosure filings
by Bloomberg BNA.

Approximately 40 different advocacy groups, industry
organizations, companies and other entities spent money during the
first three months of the year lobbying Congress on the minimum
wage bill (S.
2223, H.R.
1010), which stalled in the Senate on a largely party line vote
in April Although it's unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid (D-Nev.) will bring up the legislation for another vote in the
coming months, it's likely that lawmakers on both sides will hold
their positions on the bill as mid-term elections approach.

Along with traditional players such as business groups on the
one hand and labor unions on the other, the field also included the
American Psychological Association, the United Spinal Association,
an organization representing the Religious Society of Friends, and
the government for one major metropolis that already has a minimum
wage that's higher than the proposed federal level.

It's difficult to quantify just how much of the money spent by
these groups on lobbying actually went to minimum-wage-related
efforts because disclosure rules require them to reveal only the
total amount spent on lobbying overall each quarter. The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce spent nearly $19 million on lobbying efforts in
the first quarter of 2014, for example, covering activities as
varied as opposing the minimum wage bill and seeking to inform and
influence lawmakers on environmental regulations, online gambling
restrictions, natural gas permitting, and a slew of Affordable Care
Act provisions.

But the breadth of players involved in lobbying on the bill,
which would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 from $7.25 and
peg future increases to inflation, shows the significant and wide
range of potential effects the legislation could have had on
employers and workers.

Access, 'Education.'

The money spent on lobbying likely included efforts to gain
access to and sway lawmakers who may have been on the fence about
the wage raise, University of Michigan public policy professor
Richard Hall told Bloomberg BNA May 12. Most of it, however, likely
went toward shoring up relationships with those already on a
particular group's side and gathering political research to support
their positions.

"What you see is most of the money goes to legislators that
would already support the group anyway," Hall said. "What they are
trying to do is get access to those members and remind them how big
the issue is in their districts."

Two of the staunchest opponents of the measure--the National
Restaurant Association and the National Retail Federation--told
Bloomberg BNA that the majority of their activities were related to
"educating" lawmakers about their position on the matter, rather
than actually trying to convince legislators to vote down the
bill.

Besides traditional players
such as business and labor groups, lobbyists included the American
Psychological Association, an organization representing the
Religious Society of Friends, and the government of a major
metropolis that already has a minimum wage higher than the proposed
federal level.

"This was one of those issues that we needed more to respond to
questions than it was a proactive lobbying effort," Scott DeFife,
the executive vice president of policy and government affairs for
the National Restaurant Association, told Bloomberg BNA May 12.
"Virtually everyone in town has known for a year that Reid and
Harkin didn't have the votes to pass minimum wage," he added,
referring to Majority Leader Reid and bill sponsor Tom Harkin
(D-Iowa).

Interested parties may have sought access through direct
lobbying efforts, but Hall said another important piece of the
puzzle comes via separate campaign donations to party leadership
and members of congressional committees who are seen as gatekeepers
to getting a particular bill moving forward.

Unions, Chamber, Employer Groups Lead Way.

The minimum wage measure was billed as a key piece of Senate
Democrats' "fair shot" agenda and one of a handful of issues that
party leadership said they would focus on in order to create a
stark contrast with Republicans heading into the November elections
.

The lines also appear to have been clearly drawn on the lobbying
front, with labor unions and employee rights groups supporting the
legislation and individual businesses and organizations
representing them mostly opposing. The AFL-CIO ($900,000), American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council
($680,000), International Brotherhood of Teamsters ($323,000) and
Service Employees International Union ($206,850) spent
approximately $2.2 million combined on lobbying in the first three
months of 2014, including on efforts urging lawmakers to vote in
favor of the wage hike bill.

The breadth of lobbyists
involved shows the significant and wide range of potential effects
the minimum wage legislation could have had on employers and
workers.

The figures don't include lobbying activity in April, during
which both sides were likely to ramp up their efforts as the vote
drew near. Lobbyists for labor groups and the NRF told Bloomberg
News in March that they wouldn't gear up for a push on the issue
until the vote was actually scheduled .

Nevertheless, AFL-CIO Director of Government Relations Bill
Samuel told Bloomberg BNA May 9 that the minimum wage bill is one
of the federation's "top four" legislative priorities, along with
extending long-term unemployment benefits, overhauling the
immigration system and fighting certain international trade
legislation. While AFSCME, SEIU and the Teamsters declined to
describe their lobbying activities, each of the unions was vocal in
support of the wage hike legislation in the months leading up to
the vote.

Joining the Chamber of Commerce in opposing the measure were
employer organizations such as the NRF, which spent $1 million in
total on lobbying in the first quarter of 2014, the National
Restaurant Association ($607,000), the American Hotel and Lodging
Association ($244,376) and the National Grocers Association
($60,000). The AHLA, whose board members include representatives of
Marriott, Intercontinental, Hilton and Hyatt, declined to comment
on its specific lobbying work, but has opposed minimum wage
increases generally.

A number of companies in industries represented by the trade
groups, including McDonald's, Yum! Brands, Home Depot and Marriott,
also spent money lobbying on the minimum wage bill, but each
declined to explain their individual position on the measure.

Opponents of the wage hike argue that raising the mandatory wage
floor would force employers to shed jobs. "This was never a great
idea," NRF Senior Vice President David French told Bloomberg BNA
May 9, saying that the minimum wage bill was just one of a number
of issues that the group lobbied Congress on in the first quarter.
"Labor costs don't grow on trees."

Assorted Group of Supporters.

Besides worker groups, proponents of the minimum wage bill
included an assortment of organizations and other entities. Their
reasons for lobbying in favor of the legislation are far less
readily apparent.

Although the City and County of San Francisco already has a
$10.73 an hour minimum wage in effect, a rate that increases
annually based on inflation, disclosure reports show that a portion
of the $70,000 the government spent on federal lobbying in the
first quarter was related to the minimum wage bill. Christine
Falvey, communications director for San Francisco mayor Ed Lee,
told Bloomberg BNA in a May 9 e-mail that the mayor simply thinks
the wage raise is a good idea.

"Mayor Lee supports President Obama's call to increase the
federal minimum wage and has heeded the president's call to work at
this issue on the local level as well to address wage disparity,"
Falvey said. She added that Lee is working on a ballot measure to
"significant[ly] increase" the city and county's current minimum
wage.

The impact of any additional increases on the city and county's
ability to attract lower-wage employers to the area would likely be
lessened if Congress were to also raise the federal minimum wage,
closing the gap between what these businesses can pay workers in
San Francisco and what they can pay workers nationwide.

Similarly, religious affiliated lobbying groups such as Network,
a Catholic social justice group, and the Friends Committee on
National Legislation, appear to have steered some of their lobbying
efforts toward the minimum wage legislation because they feel that
passing the measure is simply the right thing to do. FCNL
legislative associate Tila Neguse told Bloomberg BNA May 7 that the
group's lobbying efforts on the minimum wage bill are in line with
the Quaker Faith's commitment to ensuring equality and fighting
poverty.

The United Spinal Association, on the other hand, lobbied on the
bill in an attempt to add a provision requiring employers to pay
disabled workers at least the federal minimum wage. The Fair Labor
Standards Act currently permits employers to pay certain disabled
workers at a rate lower than the minimum wage.

The American Psychological Association also spent at least some
money lobbying on the legislation. In an April 2, 2014, letter to
the entire Senate, APA chief executive officer Norman B. Anderson
argued that financial insecurity is a significant source of stress
for workers and their families. "We urge you to support the Fair
Minimum Wage Act of 2013 to increase economic opportunity and
upward mobility, while reducing the adverse effects of financial
stress and poverty on our nation's families," Anderson wrote.

The APA's members include professors, researchers, clinicians,
program directors and graduate students. Deputy Executive Director
Kim Mills told Bloomberg BNA May 7 that the psychology profession
"is relevant to virtually every key issue in society today."

"Our advocacy on behalf of issues that have a direct effect on
psychologists is significant, and includes working toward more
funding for psychological research and education," Mills said. "But
we also see our mandate as requiring us to communicate to
policy-makers the best psychological research as they formulate
legislation affecting such populations as children and families,
people with disabilities, women, members of the military and
veterans and the mentally ill, as well as issues such as climate
change, health care reform, gun control and minimum wage."

Coalitions Not 'Spontaneous.'

While the interests at stake in lobbying in favor of the bill
appear to vary widely, Michigan professor Hall said the individual
groups were likely part of a larger concerted effort to get the
legislation passed. "Coalitions don't develop spontaneously," Hall
said. Rather, he said, some of the strongest supporters or
opponents of any legislation often go out looking for a broad range
of partners, whether industry or nonprofit groups, professional
associations or local municipalities.

"If I'm one of the leaders on this, I'm trying to get as many
and as different kinds of groups to back this as I can," Hall said,
adding that lobbying efforts by various interested parties may open
up access to different lawmakers.

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